#Samara Weaving to Star in Biopic About U.S.’s First Modern Celeb – /Film

If you’ve never heard of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, you’re not alone. But she’s about to get a biopic with Ready or Not breakout Samara Weaving portraying her, so read on to learn about this 19th century American celebrity.

Variety reports that Samara Weaving, who played Bill’s daughter Thea in last year’s Bill and Ted Face the Music, is now set to play the title role in Liz, a biopic about Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, whom the outlet refers to as “one of America’s forgotten founding mothers.” Here’s how they characterize the movie:

Described as a U.S.-set “Bridgerton” or “The Great,” Liz tells the story of the country’s first modern celebrity. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte gained prominence as the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte’s youngest brother, Jerome, and revolutionized America’s social scene in the time of Jefferson’s presidency. Elizabeth, who has been called one of America’s first international celebrities, was known for her fashion, wit and independence.

Adam Leon (Gimme the Loot, Tramps) is directing Liz from a screenplay by Gabriel Neustadt, whose only credit is a 2015 short film called O.E.D. This new movie will be produced by 3311 Productions, the company behind the imaginative, Kyle Mooney-starring Brigsby Bear and the harrowing, Julia Garner-fronted The Assistant.

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte married Napoleon’s younger brother Jerome when she was only 18 years old, and almost immediately began riling people up with her fashion choices. Napoleon was pissed when he found out that his brother had gotten married to an American woman (lighten up, dude), and ordered him to return to French shores to annul the marriage. Jerome basically told his brother to fuck off, but when the couple later tried to visit France to attend Napoleon’s coronation, Elizabeth (AKA Betsy) was apparently denied permission to step foot on not only French soil, but anywhere on the continent of Europe. (A little much, don’t you think?) According to Wikipedia, Jerome traveled to Italy to try to convince Napoleon to ease up, “but she would never see him again, except for a brief eye-to-eye contact in 1817.” (Side note: what the hell is the story there? That eye contact better be in this damn biopic.)

After all of the Napoleon drama, Betsy returned to America and basically became a celebrity through her connection to the Bonaparte name, gaining entrance to exclusive social circles and earning the scrutiny and attention of the public thanks to her style, beauty, and wit.

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